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The Rock's chief minister re-elected

Gibraltar's Chief Minister Peter Caruana has won a third term in office, as voters backed his fierce resistance to Spain's attempt to win sovereignty over the British colony.

28 Nov 2003 20:24 GMT

Britain won't give up the Rock to Spain

The election on Thursday took place a year after Caruana called a surprise referendum which overwhelmingly rejected negotiations between London and Madrid to share sovereignty over the enclave.

Caruana, 47, called the referendum while London and Madrid were deep in negotiations on a plan to share sovereignty. The 99 percent vote rejecting proposals, combined with preoccupation over the impending Iraq war, effectively scuppered the talks.

The move worked in Caruana's favour in a colony where nearly everyone is either loyal to Britain or in favour of greater self rule. Few would countenance Spanish sovereignty.

Thorn in the side

Caruana is head of the centre-right Gibraltar Social Democrats in the colony on the southern tip of Spain, known to its 19,500 voters as "the Rock", after the towering outcrop that dominates it.